Predictors of Concussion Symptom-Reporting Intention Among Collegiate Athletes

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Underreporting of concussion symptoms is a significant challenge in college athletics.
• Athletes may not report due to lack of recognition or to avoid removal from play.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate individual factors influencing college athletes' intention to report concussion symptoms.
• To identify key determinants of symptom underreporting in a diverse athletic population.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 2649 student-athletes from 23 sports across 22 institutions.
• Assessed demographics, athletic identity, attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control.
• Hierarchical ordinary least-squares regression analyzed predictors of concussion symptom reporting intention.

Main Results:

• Positive attitudes, descriptive norms, injunctive norms, and perceived capacity significantly increased intention to report concussion symptoms.
• Athletic identity and collision sport participation showed small negative indirect effects.
• The model explained 14.24% of the variance in reporting intention.

Conclusions:

• Clinicians can develop targeted interventions addressing attitude, social norms, and perceived capacity to improve concussion reporting.
• Athletic identity, sport type, and concussion knowledge also play a role, though to a lesser extent.
• This study provides insights from a diverse group of college athletes, addressing limitations of previous research.